A Blacksmith in the Family

This is a picture of my great, great grandfather, Patrick Hannan who was born in Limerick in 1861. I never knew such a photo existed until a few weeks ago when I came to Ireland, and reconnected with a side of my family I had never met before. I met with my Dad’s cousin, and we exchanged so much information my head was in a whirl! So many photographs, so many faces that look a little bit like mine.

The most significant finding for me was this photograph because as it turn outs, my great great grandfather was a blacksmith! Yep, there he his, on the 1911 census, aged 50 and living in Limerick City.

What my great, great grandfather was making exactly – I will probably never know for sure. Like many blacksmiths in the late 1800s he would have had his fair share of horses to shod, cart wheels to rim, tools and household utensils to forge. I like to think that he had a creative flare, a distinguishable style, and that he loved his work just like I do.

It seems some things are really ingrained in our DNA. An impulse to master a craft and work with my hands certainly runs deep. And even my love of history and archeology seems to run in the family – with my Dad’s cousin being an archeologist herself!